Losing weight while living in a dorm

sextondani

So I am a senior in college and have I have finally started counting calories and watching what I eat instead of just grabbing what I'm craving. The problem is, I live in the south and even the cafeteria options aren't all that healthy. There's also not an easy way to figure out how large a "portion" of food actually is. The spoons used to dish yourself out food are all the same size and the nutritional information barely gives you a clue as to how large a real portion is. 4oz of chicken tenders? Really? What does that even mean? So really I'm just guessing at portions and not losing weight. I try not to overeat and leave myself just full enough that I'm satisfied.
I'm also trying to work out two times a week but the gym is all the way across campus and motivating myself to get up at 5:30 and walk in the freezing cold to go work out is incredibly difficult. What do I do? I'm just struggling here.

queencelina

oh college life! well i'm not the best source for information but usually a portion of meats should be the size of your palm. why dont you try loading up on fruits and veggies to get filled up? Im still struggling with that part too. And is there a way you can workout at night or during the day at all?

what i do to stay motivated to get up is make a really good play list. one to pump me up before i get there so i'm like mentally preparing myself!

i hope i helped a bit. feel free to add me im here to help!

MsBeverleyH

So that you have a better guess, you can use visuals like your hand to help you: https://crossfitfms.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/portion_control_chartfull1.gif

(If that link doesn't work, just search "food size guide" and check out the various images.)

As for the gym, if 5:30 am isn't your style, you could try hitting up the gym later in the day. I usually do my workouts between 7-9pm! And regarding the "freezing" weather, I live in Ottawa and it's been in the -20's for us for a while (roughly -4F for y'all in the States). If I can walk a half hour outside every day, I KNOW that you can go to the gym. YOU'VE GOT THIS!

r5d5

I have the same problem with food sizes! I appreciate that my school posts the nutritional information, it's better than nothing, but you're spot on! What the hell is 4oz of chicken fingers? Or 4oz of fries?
My school offers to-go containers which is soooooo helpful! I don't know if you're school does that, but what I've started to do is just take back to my room the amount of food I think is a serving and then, with my food scale, I weigh it to log it accurately. By now, I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing what a serving is if I have to sit in the dining hall and eat. If that's not feasible for you, then definitely take the above posters' advice!